Courtesy Photos / U.S. Air Force
COL. JOHN BREAZEALE, new commander, pictured at right, accepts the reins of the 301st Fighter Wing from Maj. Gen. William Binger, 10th Air Force commander, during the Change of Command ceremony Oct. 5 at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base. CMSgt. Brian Pinsky, 301st FW’s Comman Chief Master Sergeant, waits for the wing’s guideon. Next photo, Col. Breazeale, a Gilmer native, addresses Wing members for the first time following the ceremony.

NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE —Col. John M. Breazeale, a Gilmer native and son of Frank and Annette Breazeale, assumed command of the 301st Fighter Wing from Brig. Gen. Ronald B. Miller during a change of command ceremony Saturday, Oct. 5, here.

Tenth Air Force Commander, Maj. Gen. William B. Binger, presided over the ceremony. He began by giving accolades to Miller on his service to the wing.

“Under Gen. Miller’s leadership for the past three years, the 301st Fighter Wing has deployed its Airmen to fight our nation’s wars in combat, and are about to do so again,” Binger said. “They’ve supported Theater Security Cooperation deployments overseas in both the F-16 and F-22, passed an operational readiness assessment, and added an active fighter association in operations and maintenance here at the wing.”

In addition to these accomplishments, the wing has earned an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and the highly-coveted 10th Air Force Power and Vigilance Award, he said.

“Gen. Miller, my hat’s off to you and the Airmen in this outstanding wing for their excellence, service and sacrifice,” Binger said.

The 10th Air Force commander then welcomed the new commander.

“Col. Breazeale, you are inheriting a great wing with fantastic Airmen,” he said. “I have absolutely no doubt that you are the perfect Airman, at the perfect time, to lead this wing to the next level. You are a warrior leader with the right skillset, attitude and personality to thrive here in Fort Worth.”

Breazeale joins the wing from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., where he was the commander of the 917th Fighter Group assigned to the 442nd Fighter Wing, consisting of about 580 Airmen and 24 A-10C Thunderbolt II close-air support attack aircraft.

During a span of five years from 2002 to 2007, Breazeale served here as the chief of weapons and tactics and director of operations at the 457th Fighter Squadron. He was also the deputy operations group commander at the 301st Operations Group.

“Karen and I are excited to return to the 301st Fighter Wing,” he said. “We began our reserve journey in the 301st and are honored to get the opportunity to serve in the Wing again.”

Making sure Wing Airmen and their families are provided for is one of Col. Breazeale’s top goals.

“Above all, my intent is to continue the proud tradition of excellence at the 301 FW,” said Breazeale. “Priority one is to train and deploy combat-ready Airmen. . . both reserve and regular Air Force. We can’t do that without taking care of our Airmen and their families. Finally, it is imperative that we maintain an environment where all of our military and civilian Airmen look forward to serving and making a positive impact on our mission every single day.”

In addition to his top three goals the commander would like the Wing to know a few important things about him.

“I love people,” he said. “I will do my best to learn your name and something about you. I truly believe that our Airmen are our greatest resource. . . without them we can’t accomplish our mission.”